Changing only one part of a faceup?

Hi all,

I'm considering a secondhand doll as my first doll and she's perfect except that one of her eyebrows has a chip. Since I'm not the biggest fan of her current eyebrow shape anyways, I was thinking of taking them off and redoing them.

Any tips on only removing part of a faceup? Is it even possible?

It depends, is it a default faceup that is not sealed, or is it a custom that would be sealed? If the faceup is sealed, removing only one part would create harsh lines in the sealant layers that you would be hard pressed to even out and hide. It might not be possible at all. But if it's a default Volks or Smart Doll faceup, meaning it was mask painted and not sealed, it can be possible to remove only one part if you're careful not to drip whatever remover you use and it's not near any blushing. For example, my Anthy was not staying as the character, so I removed only the dot on her forehead. 

6 hours ago, Jezrah said:

If the faceup is sealed, removing only one part would create harsh lines in the sealant layers that you would be hard pressed to even out and hide.

Oh that's too bad. She's a custom that's sealed. >.< I guess I'll have to keep looking then. Thanks!

Not really versed in faceups, although some other painting related shinenigans. But you could try wet-sanding the unwanted bits away... maybe?

Tedious, and slightly risky if you accidentally wander into bits you intended to keep, but might alleviate the possible ridge effect Jezrah mentioned (Which you could try to sand away also).

also a possibility, that if its an older work, if you sand through all coats of clear and into fresh vinyl you might end up with a lighter spot.

But either approach would need re-sealing, and faceup peeps would better know how much sealant is too much sealant, since I think at some point the clear starts to crack more easy as the head flexes in use, as I think happened to one head I have.

 

@AtelierFairytale  Alternatively if you don't mind saving for a faceup too, you could get her, take detailed pictures, and commission a faceup artist you like to recreate the look? Or if she's just a basic sculpt, get a blank one if that costs less. There have been many times where I wished I could have a specific doll, and painted a faceup similar but not identical on the same sculpt, or a sculpt that shared the features I liked.